BLACK Economic Empowerment (BEE) should be easier to implement once the various laws governing it are aligned and consolidated next year, says National Treasury (NT) director: norms and standards, Jeyrel Soobramanian. He says the NT and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) have agreed that revised provisions of the Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment Act and the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework (PPPF) be consolidated within the review of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), which will be tabled in Parliament as part of next year’s legislative programme. The new PFMA regulations will incorporate Supply Chain Management (SCM) regulations, including preferential procurement. In the interim, the NT and the DTI have established a working group to amend current PPPF regulations retaining the point system, but using the balanced scorecard methodology to bring it in line with the BBBEE Act. Once the NT and the DTI have agreed on the draft revised Regulations, they will be advertised in national and provincial Government Gazettes for public comment. The comment will be evaluated, incorporated and legally refined; where after the revised Regulations have to be approved by the Minister of Finance and get promulgated. Rollout will be accompanied by joint training/information sessions/workshops by the NT and the DTI. Soobramanian stresses the current PPPFA must be applied until the NT formally communicates any revised Regulations.